Having a health insurance plan becomes more important everyday. Medical expenses keep going up, making it more difficult to pay them without insurance. We often hear that insurance costs are increasing every year as well, and some even consider cancelling their plans or to look for less costly options.
The following are three key reasons why you should keep your health insurance for life. There are many more, but knowing these is a good place to start:
- Price – Medical insurance plans go up almost every year and, of course, it is a bother having to pay for a plan that many people don’t use. When you cancel your life insurance because you never use it you must consider that, if you’re not insured, you will have to pay for medical bills, which will also become more expensive. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest you cancel your health insurance, because you’ll never now when you are going to need it.
- First Year Limitations – Changing your current insurance for a “better” or “cheaper” one is not recommended as well. It is very important to take into account that when you change your plan the new one might have some coverage limitations during the first year of use. For example, some plans limit Sport Related Injuries during their first year; so, if you place a claim based on this kind of ailments the insurance company can opt not to pay. Please ask about these limitations before considering any change of plan.
- Coverage Continuity – When you keep your health plan with one insurance company all of your life, they will know exactly which health conditions you have used for claims during your lifetime, so they will keep providing coverage for them all the time. When you change companies, you must fill out a form where you declare your medical conditions, and the new insurance company can decide not to give you coverage for them, even excluding any claims related to a pre-existing medical condition. This is something very important to consider you are evaluating a change in your health insurance plan or company.